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TIBC is not as accurate a diagnostic tool in dogs
and cats as it has been in humans. But it is still occasionally run
as part of an iron panel when your veterinarian is looking for the reason
why your pet is anemic.

This test indirectly measures the amount of iron
in your pet’s blood that is available to form hemoglobin. That circulating
iron is bound to a blood protein called tranferrin that is produced mainly
in your dog or cat ’s liver. The transferrin+iron complex is eventually
carried to your pet’s bone marrow where the iron is used to form
the hemoglobin in the new red blood cells that are formed there.

The results
of the TIBC test mean the most when they are considered along with the amount
of iron free in your pet’s blood serum. In this test, iron is added
to a sample of your pet’s blood to see how much the transferrin
that is present can absorb. The more iron absorbed, the less the amount
of free iron was initially present in your pet’s blood stream. So
pets with a high TIBC lack sufficient iron.

Reasons Why Your Pet’s TIBC Could Be High :

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common cause
of elevated TIBC and low blood iron levels. The most common cause is probably
chronic digestive tract inflammation that allows blood to leave in the
pet’s stool and also inhibits the absorption of iron. Many of those conditions
in dogs and cats go under the classification of inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD).

A true lack of iron in the diet of dogs and cats
is quite rare. But immature pets that are bottle fed with un supplemented milk
formulas do not receive enough dietary iron. Those puppies and kittens
could develop iron deficiency anemia with low blood iron and a high TIBC.

Any chronic blood loss will deplete your pets
stores of iron and could increase its TIBC values. Gastrointestinal parasites,
like hookworms are very small. Each one absorbs only a small amount of
your pets blood. But over time large numbers of these parasites and the
intestinal bleeding they cause can also result in iron deficiency anemia (Strongyloides parasites can do this as well).

Chronic inflammatory diseases of all kinds can
also cause iron deficiency anemia as can various cancers.

Reasons Why Your Pet’s TIBC Might Be Low :

Tranferrin, the actual compound to which iron
binding occurs, is primarily produced by your pet’s liver. So liver
disease and things that affect the liver's ability to synthesize
transferrin (like portosystemic shunts) can lower its body’s tranferrin
level causing a low TIBC value in the process. When that situation occurs, the pet’s
blood albumen levels should be low as well. Starvation will have the same
effect.

Chronic kidney disease can also be a source of
leakage of tranferrin and albumen into your pet’s urine where it is lost from the body.

TIBC was found to be naturally low in normal racing
greyhounds. It was also found to be low in certain tumors of the bone
called osteosarcomas.

Complementary Tests :

TIBC can vary from day to day, probably due to fluctuations in your pet’s
cortisol levels. If the test is abnormal and no obvious cause is found,
rerun the test in a week.